Big Sean: Finally Famous Review

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Detroit rapper too focused on his success on debut.

By Chad Grischow

Hailing from Detroit, Big Sean's debut is one of the most anticipated of 2011, due to his successful mixtape series and signing with Kanye West's GOOD Music. His piano-heavy album, produced largely by No I.D., proves worthy of the hype more often than not.

Vocally and musically, Big Sean bears a striking resemblance to Kanye, with a similarly laid-back, conversational flow and affinity for soul samples. Lupe Fiasco drops by for a verse on "Wait For Me", where jangling piano chords and a bouncy beat are accented by Motown background singer samples. Big Sean sticks to the story of leaving town to make it, only to return and find his woman has moved on, while Lupe finds time to squeeze in a little social commentary about imported goods. New Edition's "Can You Stand The Rain" is put to good use on "My Last", as he raps about living life to its fullest and bragging to pick up women while Chris Brown delivers a solid soulful hook. His more jabbing style on the song works great against the twinkling piano-laced sample.

Full-bodied "Dance (A$$)" borrows a sample from MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This", where the thundering bass and 'Hammer Time' breakdown add up to hilarity as he talks up his love of booty with a cleverly shifty flow over a clapped beat. Ripe with banging bass, horns, and a squeaky bed spring effect, "Marvin & Chardonnay" finds Kanye and Roscoe Dash dropping in over the rat-a-tat beat. The song is a little cluttered musically, but the three talking up their alcohol and Marvin Gaye driven loving is worth stomaching the overstuffed production.

For a debut album, Big Sean is a little too hung up on how successful he is. When you hear him claim, "I swear I been through everything in life but a coffin", and, "I'm eating in a world where I'm considered bait", on chilled piano and string fuelled rap ballad "Memories, Pt. 2" it makes the bling-happy raps of mellow, neon synth and twinkling piano led "Get It (DT)" less interesting. The Neptunes produced tune, with Pharrell delivering the decent hook, is fine on its own, but Big Sean's wealth-loving raps are around every corner on the album, "The warmer the weather, the colder the drink / The colder the weather, the warmer the mink / I'm living life like I found a f*cking check with no ink".

The wonderfully tangled soul samples and piano mash of "So Much More" does a much better job, as he reminisces, "And when my momma cried a river / They never gave us a bridge, they gave us a Bridge Card", before looking at his current circumstances, "Man, I wake up to a wet dream / Everyday's a Friday / And every night's a sex scene / Every week is fashion week / And everyday I'm pressed clean".

Big Sean is at his best here when the songs have a narrative flow to them, like with the conflicted "Don't Tell Me You Love Me". The anxious strings and soulful guitar roll behind a tumbling beat as he examines a crumbling relationship he cannot escape from, "I know your tears more than you / Cuz I see them so much / That's what happens when you're here with no trust / Ok, I lied, cheated, you cried / You done worse sh*t, and I'm still here, right?"